Heidi Heitkamp, Lamar Alexander won’t support Syria resolution

President Barack Obama’s drive for congressional approval of military force in Syria suffered multiple blows Monday when a handful of key senators announced their opposition to the resolution under consideration by the Senate this week.

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), who is pushing alternative legislation with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), emphasized in a statement that she believes there are options available other than the 90-day limited military strike on Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime proposed by the Foreign Relations Committee. And Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said in prepared remarks for an event in Nashville that he would reject the authorization because there was “too much uncertainty” in what would come after a military strike.

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And Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a member of Senate GOP leadership, also came out against military action against the Assad regime, saying he remained unconvinced that the Obama administration had “realistic” policy objectives in Syria.

“The current Senate resolution falls short because it calls for military action in Syria without carefully looking at diplomatic or alternative solutions. I strongly believe that we need the entire world, not just America, to prevent and deter the use of chemical weapons in Syria, or anywhere else on the globe,” Heitkamp said.

The administration got one key boost Monday when Sen. Barb Mikulski (D-Md.), who had attended several classified briefings and was among a small group of lawmakers who had met with Vice President Joe Biden in the White House situation room, announced her support for military strikes.

“The use of chemical weapons, a weapon of mass destruction — grim and ghoulish — mandates a response,” Mikulski said on the Senate floor.

Still, it was clear Monday that President Barack Obama has a long way to go before securing the sufficient number of votes in favor of military action in Syria.

In her statement, Heitkamp emphasized that the Assad regime’s “heinous crime against humanity … cannot be ignored.” Her legislation with Manchin would give Assad 45 days to agree to a chemical weapons ban and turn over those weapons.

“If, after 45 days, the Assad regime mistakes our deliberate and careful democratic process for lack of will and immunity, it does so at its own peril,” Heitkamp said.

By voting against the resolution, Alexander will go against fellow Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker, who is the ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee and co-wrote the measure.

“I see too much risk that the strike will do more harm than good by setting off a chain of consequences that could involve American fighting men and women in another long-term Middle East conflict,” Alexander said.

Heitkamp joined a swelling number of Democrats who oppose the Senate bill, including Manchin and Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Tom Udall of New Mexico, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Brian Schatz of Hawaii. There is steeper opposition among Senate Republicans, although there are several key supporters — among them are Corker, and Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who all voted for the resolution in the Foreign Relations Committee.

The Obama administration has been working overtime to convince lawmakers Assad’s force used chemical weapons in an attack that killed more than 1,400 Syrians in August. Obama will try to prop up flagging Democratic support in a meeting with Senate Democrats on Tuesday.